"So, I've made another contribution?" Flandre Scarlet asked, realizing it belatedly.
"You certainly have. Not just a contribution, but a major one. I heard the Governor is planning a ceremony after this whole thing is over. I'm just not sure if you'll be invited." Hoshiguma looked at Flandre. After a case of this magnitude, the Governor would likely reward the participants handsomely. However, Flandre's status was awkward, and she wasn't sure if Wei Yenwu would include her in such a public-facing event.
"Don't worry, I'll take you with me whether you're invited or not. After all, Flandre is my greatest contributor!" Beatrice Swire, standing nearby, looked at Flandre Scarlet and spoke seriously.
"Don't think of Governor Wei as being so petty. Since he chose to let Flandre stay and arranged for her to work at the Guard Department, he will naturally support her." Chen Huijie felt that Wei Yenwu would likely have Flandre Scarlet present. After all, having the Governor's Mansion and the Guard Department endorse her would allow the people of Lungmen to recognize and trust her more quickly. As for what to do if they didn't trust her? If the Governor and the Guard Department have endorsed her and you still don't believe it, then you might as well stop staying in Lungmen.
The next few days were calm, but just as Flandre Scarlet was starting to forget about it, Lady Fumizuki suddenly arrived.
"Little Flandre, how have you been lately?"
"Very well. Sister Beatrice is here every day, and Sister Chen and Sister Hoshiguma visit occasionally."
Although Flandre Scarlet seemed to have nothing to do every day, she had actually been studying the history of Terra seriously. She was integrating it with the things from her other memories, turning it into her own knowledge. So, her life had been very fulfilling lately.
"It's like this: you remember what happened when you and that girl Beatrice were out a while ago, right?" Fumizuki spoke in a coaxing tone.
"Of course I remember! It was so beautiful there, Flandre wants to go again!" Flandre Scarlet replied happily.
"Back then, you saved Beatrice's life and helped her successfully send the message back to Lungmen, which led to everything that followed." Fumizuki looked at Flandre Scarlet, and seeing that she had her attention, continued. "This matter has concluded, and Governor Wei is planning to hold a press conference in Lungmen to summarize the event. We hope you can attend as a special Operator of the Guard Department. Would you be willing?"
"What about my salary?" Flandre Scarlet noted that she had been here for two or three months. While she had no worries about food or drink, she had no source of income.
Hearing Flandre's words, Lady Fumizuki was momentarily stunned before laughing heartily. "It seems our Governor Wei still has some oversights. Don't worry, I'll get your salary card sorted out after I return, and I'll make sure all the wages for these past days are deposited into your account!"
Only then did Flandre Scarlet "reluctantly" agree to Lady Fumizuki's request. Not long after Lady Fumizuki left, Beatrice rushed back excitedly.
"Flandre, Flandre! I have good news for you: you're included in the press conference for the case!"
Flandre Scarlet nodded. "I already know!"
"Ah? Did that Pink Sausage Dragon lack sportsmanship and secretly call to tell you?" Beatrice looked at the phone on the table, which she had bought for Flandre. She raised her eyebrows, looking ready to settle the score with Chen Huijie. There were only three numbers on it: hers, Hoshiguma's, and Chen Huijie's.
"No, it was Lady Fumizuki. She just left a moment ago!"
"Uh, the weather is so nice today!" Upon hearing it was Lady Fumizuki, Beatrice immediately changed the subject. Flandre Scarlet looked outside. It was clearly raining today, which was why she hadn't gone out. Why would Sister Beatrice say the weather was nice?
Although she didn't quite understand, she made a mental note: Sister Beatrice likes rainy days. Even if she herself didn't like the rain.
"Cough, anyway, today is a good day. I've decided we must have some good food to celebrate. I learned a thing or two from Lady Fumizuki's chef before. Just you wait, little Flandre." After saying that, she skipped back out and brought in a small box from the car.
Sniff sniff "It's fresh blood!" Flandre Scarlet's eyes lit up.
"That's right. I specifically had someone at home donate some blood. It's not much, but it's enough to make some small pastries. And since Flandre likes drinking black tea, I even got a box of premium tea."
Little Tiger seemed particularly happy. She, who usually never entered the kitchen, took the ingredients and went inside, ready to show off her skills. Following that, Flandre Scarlet in the living room could hear the occasional clatter and crash of pots and pans from the kitchen... Worried, Flandre peeked in, only to find that Beatrice had turned white. She was covered in flour from head to toe, and some of it had mixed with water and was starting to knot in her hair.
"Does cooking require making oneself look like this?" Flandre Scarlet recalled Sakuya's elegant image in the kitchen; it was a completely different story from Beatrice. "Is it because the worlds are different?" She shook her head and sat back down.
Half an hour later, a disheveled Beatrice walked out and picked up the phone. "Hello, Butler? Immediately arrange for two maids who can cook to come over. Immediately!!!"
Beatrice chose to give up; Beatrice called for reinforcements. Not long after, there was a knock at the door. By this time, Swire had gone to shower, as she was too embarrassed to be seen.
"Hello, Miss Flandre. We are the Young Lady's maids, here to follow your instructions." The two maids were twins. Flandre pointed them toward the kitchen.
After they went in, Flandre Scarlet peeked again. "Hmm, these two have a bit of Sakuya's style. But Sister Beatrice made such a mess, it'll probably take them some time just to restore it."
It took more than half an hour for Beatrice to wash up. Walking out, she looked toward the kitchen and frowned. "Is the food taking this long to prepare?" Flandre was too embarrassed to tell her that the two inside had spent the first ten minutes just cleaning up the "battlefield" Beatrice had left behind.
"Whatever. Since it's not ready yet, let's read together. Little Flandre, what are you reading now?" Beatrice took the book and looked at it with a dazed expression.
It was titled "Analysis of Illusion: This World is Neither Real Nor Fake" by Otto Dietmar Gustav von Utheca.
"What is this you're reading?" Swire was bewildered. She remembered seeing this kind of thing in university, but she wasn't very interested in Originium Arts.
"An analysis of spells from the Illusion school!" Flandre Scarlet said.
"I know that, but can you actually understand this?" Beatrice remarked that even in university, without professional guidance, trying to understand this would be extremely difficult. "Also, why does this author's name sound so familiar?"
"He has a very famous alias—Herzkönig, the previous Witch King of Leithanien, a true master of arts," Flandre Scarlet provided the answer.
"So it's him. I remember after he was ousted, many of his books were recalled and destroyed by Leithanien. To think there's still a copy of his work here." Beatrice thought about it and found it somewhat understandable. Even if Leithanien was secretive about the Witch King, to people in other countries, he was just a failed leader from next door.
However, the fact that Flandre Scarlet could understand his work was the most terrifying part. Swire leaned in to look at a spell model on the page. She recognized every word individually, but together, they became an incomprehensible existence. She pulled her head back, lest she be "polluted" by forbidden knowledge.
"So, little Flandre, why are you reading this?"
"To study! Although I've read many spell books in Patchy's library, their analysis of magic is completely different from these. I plan to study it well and give Patchy a surprise when we meet!"
Flandre Scarlet wore a proud expression, like someone preparing a mischievous prank. Only Beatrice felt a sense of existential dread; Flandre was studying something so high-level that Swire couldn't participate at all, making her desperately wish she had paid more attention in her university Arts courses.